MacBook not working right

[jeejeebu]

So about a month ago, I went to open my sleeping MacBook and discovered it had shut itself down. I thought that was weird but forgot about it. The past week or so it's been doing it a lot more frequently. It's not every time and I don't know what causes it and can't reproduce it. The first time it happened, I don't think it was plugged in, but every time since then it has been plugged in. Any ideas what the problem could be?

Also, this is just a weird thing, not really a problem, but I have it set so that when it's plugged in, the screen does not dim before shutting off. Last night, I noticed that it had started to dim. I checked and the settings are still the same. Could it be related?

 

[displaced]

Try a couple of things:

Reset the Parameter-RAM (PRAM). Do this by shutting down your Mac, then when you hear the startup chime, hold the Command, Option, P and R keys down simultaneously. Keep them held down and the machine will soon restart itself and you'll hear the chime again. Then you can release the keys.

Also, reset the System Management Controller (SMC). Shut down your Mac, unplug from the mains and also remove the battery. Hold the power button down for 15-20 seconds. Of course, it won't look like anything's happening, but it's draining the capacitor which keeps the SMC running.

After doing all this, you may need to re-set your energy saver settings... but this procedure's worked for me whenever my MBP's acted oddly during sleep/wake.

 

[xpovos]

Try a couple of things:

Reset the Parameter-RAM (PRAM). Do this by shutting down your Mac, then when you hear the startup chime, hold the Command, Option, P and R keys down simultaneously. Keep them held down and the machine will soon restart itself and you'll hear the chime again. Then you can release the keys.

Also, reset the System Management Controller (SMC). Shut down your Mac, unplug from the mains and also remove the battery. Hold the power button down for 15-20 seconds. Of course, it won't look like anything's happening, but it's draining the capacitor which keeps the SMC running.

After doing all this, you may need to re-set your energy saver settings... but this procedure's worked for me whenever my MBP's acted oddly during sleep/wake.

I'll add to that a note about your screen dimming. There's a bug in OS X that prevents it from retaining the dimming setting across reboots. Check the option box and then uncheck it again, and now it shouldn't dim before display sleep. Your setting will hold while the machine sleeps, but you'll find it dimming again after a shutdown & reboot, in which case you'll have to repeat this procedure.

 

[jeejeebu]

Thanks. I'll try that. No way to really test if it works though, so fingers crossed!